In The Studio with RedbeardThe stories behind history's greatest rock bands2015-03-30T14:46:38Zhttp://www.inthestudio.net/feed/atom/WordPressRed Beardhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=194472015-03-29T20:48:21Z2015-03-30T01:01:51ZContinue Reading]]>This milestone in the music world should be celebrated near and far by anyone who has ever hummed a tune over the last half-century on this earth, and it is unfolding as a very busy year indeed for Eric Clapton, marking his 70th birthday today(Monday 30th). Clapton will have a career retrospective three CD collection of his Reprise Records years, Forever Man. The release of Forever Man April 28 coincides with nine concert dates in celebration of EC’s 70th birthday. The shows take place at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden on May 1st and 2nd, and at London’s Royal Albert Hall on May 14th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, and 23rd. But first Eric Clapton is one of my many guests here In the Studio for the Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble Hall of Fame induction show the week of April 13, plus listen now to Clapton discussing Cream here, and Blind Faith with Steve Winwoodhere elsewhere in our archive. -Redbeard

(Eric Clapton with his Grandmother Rose in 1970)

]]>0adminhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=118492015-03-07T18:04:59Z2015-03-30T01:01:41ZContinue Reading]]>Reportedly the #1-selling book in Ireland in 1991 was by Irish poet/literature professor Brendan Kennelly, the same year that U2 wrote and recorded the Achtung Baby album containing the song “Until the End of the World”. Entitled Where Would We Be Without Judas?, the book proposes that the dawn of Truth must follow the darkness of Sin like two different sides of the same coin. In our In the Studio interview about the making of Achtung Baby, the Edge admits that U2 lyricist Bono, in particular, was intrigued by Kennelly’s assertion that, “To serve the Age, you must betray it”, finding in Judas Iscariot‘s worldly politicking and ultimate betrayal a notorious yet absolutely necessary role in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy by Jesus Christ.

To truly appreciate the lyrical dialogue that runs throughout “Until the End of the World”, it is imperative that the listener understand that the singers’ (plural) perspective changes every time the stanzas do. The singer in the first stanza is Jesus; the singer in the second stanza is Judas; and in the final stanza, it’s you and me.- Redbeard

]]>0adminhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=149242015-03-27T17:05:18Z2015-03-30T01:00:23ZContinue Reading]]>Quite coincidentally, two of Robert Plant‘s post-Led Zeppelin solo albums, Spring 1985’s Shaken’n’Stirred and March 1990’s Manic Nirvana, are each marking significant anniversaries, so no better time to examine them via the impressive Nine Lives box set. It was Robert’s second solo album, 1983’s The Principle of Moments, which convinced us that Plant could sustain a viable solo career outside of the legendary Led Zeppelin with whom he fronted for twelve fabled years. Angular extended songs “In the Mood” and the cryptic “Big Log” became rock radio staples in the States, followed by “Little by Little” from Shaken and Stirred in 1985.

Not until 1988’s Now and Zen, however, did Plant shed the self-conscious shadow of Led Zeppelin by exorcising his ghosts with the song ” Tall Cool One”, brilliantly sampling the “thunder of the gods” iconic licks and employing Zeppelin mastermind Jimmy Page on guitar. “Heaven Knows” and “Ship of Fools” made Now and Zen a blockbuster, with “Hurting Kind” in 1990 from Manic Nirvana twenty-five years ago and the tender heartfelt “29 Palms” on Fate of Nations completing our visit with Robert Plant In the Studio for this classic rock interview.- Redbeard

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0adminhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=4392015-03-26T17:04:45Z2015-03-30T01:00:21ZContinue Reading]]>Billy Joel took a big risk in March 1980 by following blockbusters The Stranger and 52nd Street with the surprisingly stripped down garage rock arrangements of Glass Houses. But lest you get the wrong idea, it was the approach that was lean, not the material. Some of his best songs are here, including “You May Be Right”,”Sometimes a Fantasy”,”Don’t Ask Me Why”, “Close to the Borderline”, the under-appreciated“All for Leyna“, and the timeless “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”. In a rare conversation, Billy and I sound like two guys outside sitting on the stoop recalling his favorite old Rolling Stones licks; seeing the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, British Invasion bands that followed, garage rock, and the New York City punk scene that influenced his approach on the 1980 Glass Houses album; how “playing it again, Sam” is boring; New York baseball(he was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan until they moved to L.A. in 1958, when he switched to the Yankees); Harley Sportsters; getting T-boned while riding said motorcycle and almost losing his hands; and why having your brother-in-law manage you only works in The Godfather movies.

Find out why Glass Houses has sold over ten million copies, stayed at #1 for six consecutive weeks thirty-five years ago, was the 4th-best seller for the entire year 1980, and won Billy a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. And Joel’s current administration as the unofficial musical mayor of New York City shows no sign of term limits any time soon, as evidenced by this Friday’s sold out Madison Square Garden concert as well as his next show there May 28, so try Kansas City May 1, Minneapolis May 16, Virginia Beach June 6, or the annual Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester TN June 14. -Redbeard

]]>0Red Beardhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=194292015-03-29T00:38:27Z2015-03-29T00:38:27ZContinue Reading]]>Register below before midnight ET April 19 for the drawing to win Rush‘s progressive rock classic 2112 and their first live double album, All the World’s a Stage, both pressed on audiophile-grade heavy vinyl with original artwork. The unique Hologram Edition of 2112 showcases a custom, hand-drawn hologram of the “Red Star of the Federation” in the album’s dead wax runout of side two. To reveal the spinning hologram, fans can use any focused source of light, such as the LED flashlight on a smartphone, directly above the turntable while playing. Enter only once if you are a North American resident, and thanks to Universal Music Enterprises for the cool collectibles. [contact-form-7]
]]>0Red Beardhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=194222015-03-28T23:43:42Z2015-03-28T23:43:42ZContinue Reading]]>This week In the StudioThe WhoHits 50 Tour embarks across North America on the anniversary of Live at Leeds, one of rock’s greatest live albums ever. Pete Townshend hosts what was intended to be a stop-gap live recording while the band decided what to try to follow their surprising rock opera Tommy‘s success. We also include exclusive comments about Live at Leeds from the late John Entwistle who, as you will hear, was particularly fond of it. -Redbeard

]]>0Red Beardhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=193182015-03-26T13:41:19Z2015-03-23T00:00:42ZContinue Reading]]>Thirty-five years ago we were not even ninety days into a new decade when Genesis, now a trio with Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks, released their Duke album. Though the veteran progressive rockers’ tenth (!) studio album, it contained their first Top 15 US hits, “Misunderstanding” and “Turn It On Again” which took them to the top of the sales charts. My guests Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford say that Genesis liked the view so much from that vantage point that they stayed there for the entirety of the Eighties decade, but as you will hear, it came perilously close to never happening- twice.

In concert prior to 1976, original Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel was both the vocal and focal point of the English quintet, using lighting, props, make-up, and wardrobe to create a surreal environment for his plaintive voice and fantastic tales. When Gabriel announced his departure following the 1975 Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour, the thought of Genesis without his riveting visual stage presence left me with images of four anonymous guys playing instrumentals in the shadows on the Genesis Live album cover. Yet when a new Genesis album A Trick of the Tale appeared in 1976 with some of the strongest songs ever framed by the most muscular production to date, the vocals bore an uncanny resemblance to the departed Gabriel. So who dat? The drummer? You can’t be serious . The drummer ?

OK , I was duly impressed. A Trick of the Tale sounded like Genesis, but the band’s fan base was built on a cult centered around the live show, so how could their new singer Phil Collins provide that all-important stage presence while anchored at the back behind the drum kit? I discovered the answer in dramatic fashion at the Genesis Wind and Wuthering concert in Hartford’s Bushnell Auditorium in Spring 1977. The band had introduced second drummer Chester Thompson, whose muscular playing proved to be a rhythmic steroid for the band live and was a real treat to watch as he and Collins played in perfect synchronization.

At a climactic point during the epic song “The Musical Box”, Collins leaped down from his drum riser and bounded out to the center stage microphone while the band played to a crescendo. As Collins sang the refrain, suddenly individual bolts of lime green light pierced the darkness from high above the singer, forming a three-dimensional green cone that rapidly encircled the singer’s frozen form. I fully expected him to disappear before our very eyes, transported away like a real-life Captain Kirk!
We had just witnessed our first laser light show. Genesis became so innovative with stage lighting that their show became the envy of every touring band, and soon requests to rent the Genesis lighting gear and technicians when they were off the road became so frequent that, within five years, Genesis and manager Tony Smith actually invested in the Dallas-based company Vari-Lite International to do nothing but that, and in so doing transformed the state of lighting in Broadway theater, television, concerts, motion pictures, churches, and amusement parks. The company employs 450 people (former In The Studio engineer / editor Doug Hall is a Vari-Lite alumnus ) with annual sales of $91.5 million. -Redbeard

]]>0Red Beardhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=175362015-03-23T18:32:20Z2015-03-23T00:00:16ZContinue Reading]]>If you lived within five hundred miles of Chicago, Detroit, or Toronto between 1968 and 1972, seemingly there wasn’t a day when the Winnepeg band The Guess Who didn’t have a hit song on the radio:“These Eyes”,”Laughing”,”Undun”,”No Time”,”No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature”,”American Woman”, all written by terrific singer/pianist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman. Even after Bachman left, the hits continued for the Guess Who with “Hand Me Down World” and “Share the Land”. Both Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman tell the real story here.

And a postscript to what we believed to be the entirety of the recorded Guess Who projects: a four-channel Quadrophonic surround mix of the Best of the Guess Who has just been released! Now as you can surmise, not every one of their earliest hits benefits from the long-ago SQ/QS attempts intended for four-channel records forty years ago, but the title song to American Woman, “No Time”, “No Sugar Tonight” and “Share the Land” in quad certainly was worth the wait!- Redbeard

]]>0Red Beardhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=193602015-03-23T15:48:06Z2015-03-22T22:29:38ZContinue Reading]]>To commemorate the forthcoming induction of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon are joined by a host of friends and admirers including Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Steve Miller, Joe Bonamassa, biographer Joe Nick Patoski, and an archival interview with the late songwriter Doyle Bramhall, all the induction week of April 13. -Redbeard

]]>0Red Beardhttp://www.inthestudio.net/?p=193532015-03-22T19:42:16Z2015-03-22T19:42:16ZNorth American residents only please, one per e-mail address, and register for the drawing below before midnight ET April 12. Prize courtesy of Inakustik Recordings. [contact-form-7]
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